University Exhibition Is Exploration of Memory and Existence

CLARION, Pa. – Clarion University Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents a new exhibition by artist Steven Labadessa, titled “Condemnation of Memory.”

The exhibit will run through December 6 in the University Art Gallery, Carlson Library.

“The work is more a reflection of the general anxiety of our fleeting existence,” Labadessa said. “The exhibit explores within the confines of self-portraiture the ‘poetics of observation’ that typically run afoul of contemporary notions of beauty.”

Invoking the ancient Roman punishment of “damnatio memoriae,” which entailed being erased from records and history, the exhibit is “an aesthetic of imperfection alluding to the underlying nature of matter and memory. Everything is subject to age, wear, and decay, which leads to the title of the exhibition,” Labadessa said.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are: noon to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday; noon to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday; and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.